Waylon Johnston

A bitter custody battle between a couple raged on yesterday as the mother appealed against a second jail term imposed after she was found to have prevented her teenage son from seeing his father.

The woman, a 57-year-old teacher, hit the headlines last month when she was jailed for three months after being found guilty of a similar charge. She was subsequently granted a presidential pardon.

Robert Abela, appearing for the husband, said the woman was so possessive that she sat next to her son, who is now 18, as he studied. He also questioned why the son had not testified.

Acting for the woman, Ludwig Caruana said there was no way she could keep her teenage son from seeing his father – adding it was up to her son to decide whether to go or not.

At one point, the woman got up to speak to reporters which elicited a strong reaction from Dr Abela who, addressing Mr Justice Lawrence Quintano, said: “This is really a trial by media.”

The woman said on the witness stand that her former husband did not care about his son’s studies and always wanted to see the boy when it suited him. She added that her son enjoyed spending time with her.

The man said his son had told him he was being manipulated by his mother. He did not know that his son was attending sixth form, adding that whenever he tried to call his son, the mother would end the call abruptly.

Dr Abela said it was not true that problems began last year but much earlier. The father had never gone to the police before because he wanted to spare his son from any problems. But when things got out of hand he was left with no choice. The lawyer added the mother ignored court orders time and time again.

Dr Caruana said that if the woman really wanted to stop the boy from seeing his father, she would have done so when he was younger, which did not happen.

Mr Justice Quintano said he had heard enough and put off the case for judgment.

A spokesman for the office of the President said yesterday that a request for the presidential pardon was received on Tuesday and was passed on to the Justice Minister according to procedure.

A Justice Ministry spokesman said the minister had, in turn, forwarded the case to the Attorney General and was now awaiting his recommendation.